Synergy Engineering

See what we mean

White Space? What IS IT?

Before we answer that, let’s quickly go over what white space is with designers like mdrcreative.co.uk. Basically, it’s all the space between the words and pictures. And it doesn’t have to be white. In the example below, the white space is actually blue.

Professional designers like mdrcreative.co.uk actively employ white space. It’s not just the space left over after everything has been placed on the page; it’s a separate design element. There are many reasons why they do this. Here are a few of the more important ones:

1. It separates elements on a page.

This the fundamental reason to use white space. Without it, your page would look cluttered and messy, readers wouldn’t be able to tell what words relate to the images, and it would be hard to read (so it probably wouldn’t be read). Even using white space badly doesn’t solve those dilemmas – you need to use it properly. This makes it very ‘busy’, like everything is coming at you at once, and, for me, it’s like getting punched in the eye.

2. It creates focus and makes things stand out.

White space, generally, is rather blank. There is nothing to look at. If it surrounds something, that something really stands out. If your brand has a minimalist look, all of your advertising might take this approach. Look at the example below. What do you focus on the most?

3. As we hinted at point 1, it improves readability.

All other things being equal, words that stand out will be read more often than words that don’t. Also, words that are easy to read will be read more often than words that aren’t. Therefore, it pays to make the most important words stand out and easy to read. The example above, while the focus is on the image, also illustrates that words surrounded by space are easy to read.

4. It helps to create balance.

There are many things to think about when trying to create a balanced image: size, shape, colour, contrast, etc. Adding white space is a great way to balance different-sized objects on your page. You see, a balanced design doesn’t mean symmetrical. A large design element with mdrcreative.co.uk can be balanced by a few smaller ones, which is where white space can come in handy. In contrast, an unbalanced image can look, well, wrong. It’s illogical. It makes the eyes dart all over the place. And you see it a lot in the work of amateurs (below on the left). Adding the right amount of white space in the right places can make your page balanced, neat, and attractive (below on the right). The picture below, on the left, is crammed and there is stuff all over the place.